Week 8 - Barbara Smith Interview from How We Get Free

Funny enough my personal project actually is following the Black Feminist Movement so I appreciated that this piece was right up my ally, and introduced me to another important Black Feminist, Ms. Barbara Smith. One thing I noticed right away from this interview was the inclusion of Smith’s laughter after making certain points about many unfortunate experiences or situations. Her laughter kind of points to a sort of cynicism about the ways of the world and how they affect her at times but also speaks to how she digests these uncomfortable truths. But beyond that I simply appreciated the experiences she shared about the early days of black feminist organization. I loved the idea of black feminist and I actually many organizations should adopt the practice of having retreats in order to cultivate a casual sense of community rootd in banning together I think those retreats were so powerful because they brought people together for a low pressure occasion and layed the ground work of fostering bonds of value when the black feminist would then go out to tlive and work.

I also appreciated Smith’s shared philosophy or the group's philosophy: “And you know, better to ask forgiveness than to ask permission. That’s how we operated.” Because sometimes you have to operate that way in order to get things done. Sometimes when plans are too transparent they can work against you if you are trying to pull off something radical. This showed how spontaneity or concealment can be a strategic asset. Lastly, I really loved that early on Smith’s feminism accounted for a semblance of interseectionality, even if that umbrella term was not used back then it is inspiring to know that there were thought leaders already contemplating the effect of stacked identities and forms of oppression.